Autosub6000: its first deepwater trials and science missions

By S. McPhail, M. Furlong, V. Huvenne, J. Perrett and M. Pebody

Abstract

In September 2007 on RRS Discovery, the<br/>Autosub6000 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)<br/>completed its first deepwater engineering trials and,<br/>fitted with a multibeam bathymetric mapping sonar,<br/>carried out its first science missions less than a year<br/>later as part of a geology and geophysics science<br/>cruise onboard the RRS James Cook. This paper<br/>describes how the issues of energy storage, navigation<br/>and buoyancy control were tackled that specifically<br/>affect a deep-diving AUV, capable of operating with<br/>true autonomy independently of the mother ship